buffyfandomcom-20200223-history
Go Ask Malice
: A Slayer's Diary is a ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' novel. Written by Robert Joseph Levy, it was originally published on June 27, 2006 by Simon Pulse. Synopsis January 22: Had the dream again last night. Only this time it was different... Faith has always been a loner. Growing up in a broken home in South Boston, shuffled from relative to relative, her only companion was an imaginary friend named Alex, who helped her escape into a fantasy world of monsters and the supernatural, far from the real-life horrors of the waking world. Now, taken away from her mother by social services and shipped off to a foster home, Faith learns that some nightmares are all too real, that the inventions of her childhood really do haunt the night, hungry for blood. Enter Diana Dormer, a Harvard professor and representative of the Watchers Council who has come to tell Faith of her destiny, to train her, to prepare her for what is to come: Faith is the Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. But she's not alone. When Alex, her childhood companion, returns in her dreams, she warns Faith that someone else is coming for her, a force so deadly and unforgiving that it has inspired fear in the underworld for a thousand generations. Its name is Malice. As memory and fantasy begin to merge, Faith's two worlds collide, with cataclysmic results. A violent battle for the Slayer's soul is staged, winner take all. This is her story… Continuity *The novel is presented as a diary recovered from the ruins of Sunnydale bus station in 2006, after the town's destruction in "Chosen". *The story begins in December 1997, several months before Faith becomes a Slayer, and ends in June 1998, with her entering Sunnydale just prior to "Faith, Hope & Trick". *The book incorporates all three relationships Faith mentioned in "Revelations": "Ronnie: deadbeat. Steve: klepto. Kenny: drummer." It also reveals Ronnie to be the one who made her wear a schoolgirl outfit ("Dirty Girls"). *Faith rescues church folks outside her house from vampires, as in the anecdote she tells in "Faith, Hope & Trick". *Faith dreams of the deaths of the two Slayers previous to her: Buffy being drowned by the Master ("Prophecy Girl"), and Kendra being hypnotized and slaughtered by Drusilla ("Becoming, Part One"). *Faith's father is identified as George; he's eventually named Pat Lehane in canon (Daddy Issues, Part Three). Appearances Individuals *Alexandra *Maria Alvedo *Andra *Artemia *D'Hoffryn *Vanity Collins *Diana Dormer *Drusilla *Dwayne *Ed *Sam Flynn *Jess *Duncan P. Jones *Mrs. Jones *Faith Lehane *George Lehane *Ms. Lehane *Kakistos *Sensei Kanno *Killian *Miss Lowell *Malice *Principal Martin *The Master *Pomerak *Ronnie *Clark Rutherfold *Steve *Buffy Summers *Tommy *Mr. Trick *Kendra Young Organizations and titles *Freak Wharf *Maenads *Potential Slayer *Slayer *Watcher *Watchers Council Species *Demon **Vahrall demon **Vengeance demon *Human *Vampire Locations *Arashmaharr *Belmont Center *Sunnydale **Overland Charters Behind the scenes Production *Robert Joseph Levy said that in this book, he hoped "to explore the choices Faith made and the choices that were taken away from her, and to explore what it is to be the Chosen One without a support system of friends or family." He hoped to provide a context for the character's behavior and the way it developed during the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and beyond. "A lot of things about Faith's character are supposed to be assumed by the viewers — a troubled childhood, delinquency and she's a loose girl. I wanted to subvert expectations, and it's one of the reasons I did it as a diary."UK Buffy the Vampire Slayer Magazine, August 2006, pages 12–13. *The title references Go Ask Alice, the controversial book about drug abuse. In turn, the title of the book was named from the Jefferson Airplane song, "White Rabbit", which includes the lyrics, "Go ask Alice / When she's ten feet tall", written in reference to possible drug references in Alice in Wonderland novel. *Levy explains his title choice: "I used the title concept as a jumping-off point to delve into the original Alice, the one who journeyed to Wonderland, and her reverberations through various sources, including the Jefferson Airplane song, 'White Rabbit', from which the title 'Go Ask Alice' is derived. Essentially, 'Go Ask Alice' is a classic juvenile delinquent story about the consequences of someone straying from the path of what's right (read: societal norms and expectations) and how this is totally groovy and fun for a while, but ultimately, this becomes a grievous and even fatal mistake, a defect of character, wholly irredeemable. For someone like me, this raises a lot of questions, which brings me to Faith."Paxomen, "Robert Joseph Levy Answers Questions About 'Go Ask Malice'". SlayerLit, September 28, 2006. *Faith's favorite band, Freak Wharf, is a likely reference to a passage in Go Ask Alice in which the diarist refers to a mental hospital as a "freak wharf". *The cover features a promotional picture taken for Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "This Year's Girl". Pop culture references *Faith compares Sam Flynn with actor James Dean. *Faith mentions a dress bought at Filene's Basement department store. *Faith compares Tommy with actor Johnny Depp. *Faith refers to the creation myth of Adam and Eve. *Faith reads the novel Dracula for school. *Faith mentions the song "Faith", written and performed by George Michael. International titles *'French:' Moi, F., 17 ans, Tueuse de Vampires (Me, F., 17 years old, Vampire Slayer) Gallery Go Ask Malice FR.jpg|Cover in France References fr:Moi, F., 17 ans, Tueuse de Vampires Category:Buffy novels